Windmill



(Model.)

W. W. HILDRBT-H.'

2f@ WINDMILL.

n j 2 Shefe-ts-Sheet 2'.

Patented out. 4,1881'.

UNITED STATES YPATENT OFFICE..

WILLIAM w. AInLDnn'rII, 0F ANGOLA, INDIANA.

WINDMILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters: Patent No. 247,914, dated October 4, 1881.

Application inea Ju1y 1,1881. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. HILDRETH, a citizen'of the United States ot' America, residing at Angola, in the county of Steuben and 5 State of Indiana, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Windmills; and I do hereby declare the'folloywingto beafull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 1o appertains to make and usethe same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and

to letters or gures of reference m arked th ereon,

' which form a part of, this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in Windmills5`and it consists in the peculiar construction of parts, whereby a cheap, simple,

Y and 'effective windmill is produced, as will be more fully describedhereinafter.

The accompanyingdrawings illustrate my 2o invention.

Figure 1 is side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the line .fr x,'Fig.1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line zz,Fig.2. Fig.4.is a section of the crosshead on the line Iy y, Fig. 3. Figs.` 5 and 6 are detailed views ot'the vane coupling devices. Fig.

7 is a plan view of the centering device, showing the pipe and piston of the mill in section.

A represents the tower of the mill, to `the 3o top of which is xed'the cap B.l Through a hole in this cap exte nds the hollow cylinder or pipe a, which is free to turn, andV forms the main support of theope'rating parts of the mill. To the top ofthe pipe a is rigidly secured 3 5 the casting b, which is round in cross-section,

and has the two uprights b', the open spaces A 112, and top b3, and bottom b4. Through the center of the top is made the hole b5, and into this hole is set the bushing@ for the reception 4o of the upper end ofthe bracket d, shaped as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of which bracket is made with an annular foot-piece, d', which encircles the pipe a immediately beneath the bottom ot' the casting b. By this construction the bracket d is left free to turn, being pivoted in the bushing at the top and upon the pipe a at the bottom of the casting b. The` lower portion of the bracket-arm d is bent at d2, as showninFig. 3, so as 'to turn slightly away 5o from'the'center ofthe cylindera .andthroughv the bent-out portion ot' the bracket, extends the bearin g d3 for the shai't e. Just below the bearin g d3 to the bracket is attached a strap or band, f,which encircles the casting b,'the said band fbeing provided with the stops f andfz. Rigidly'secured tothe casting b at the opposite side to that from which extends the bracket d,is a second bracket, g, shaped as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of which curves inward, and is provided with a circular foot-piece at g,which -encircles the cylinder a immediately below the foot d of the bracket 1,l1ing the space between the foot of the bracket d and the top of the cap-pieceB, as shown.

It will be readily seen that the brackets d and g can be turned through a quarter ot'a outer end and is provided with a nut, k, for `tighteningit,to compensate for the wear. From the inner face ofthe wheel It the pin is made square, the square portion fitting into a slot, l, made in the cross-head "In, with which the pump or other mechanism actuating'rod n is provided. This pump end passes through the cylinder a, the upper ends being held in the guides o, secured to the upper end of the bracket-arm d. It will be readily seen that as the iwheel'revolves the .wrist-pin will travel from end to end Vin the slot I, thus giving the vertical `reciprocating motion to the pump end without theaid of a connecting-rod, as usually/employed.V By the use of this device the side strain on the pumpend occasioned by the connectinglrod arrangement is avoided, and the motioniof the rod is made positive'and direct, without a tendency to force th'e rod to either side of its'ce'nter, thus making the motion ofthe machine more regular and perfect, and saving the power lost on the bending strain which is u'suallyfim-- parted to the pump-rod. By pivoting the wristpin in the wheel and having the portion which enters the slot in the cross head square thet'riction of the pin is greatly reduced, the rotary grinding motion which would result were the wrist-pin round and rigidly tixed to the crankwheel being avoided.

In the inner end of the wrist-pin is made a screw-threaded recess for the reception of the screw p, which presses the washer q against the inner face of the cross-head, as shown in Fig. 4. By this arrangement of devices the screw may be tightened to compensate for wear on the inner face ot the cross-head.

The outer end ofthe shaft e carries the windwheel D, which maybe of any desired construction. From the rear ofthe bracket g extends the vane or rudder E, for keeping the wheel before the wind.

In order to enable the wheel to be turned out of the wind when it is desired to stop it the top ofthe end of the bracketl g is provided with a transverse bcariug,.r, th ron gli which extends the rock-shaft s, one end of which is fastened to the lever t, which extends parallel with the vane and has one of its ends provided with a weight, u, the other end receiving a cord, r, which extends to the ground. To the opposite end of the rock-shaft is xed the arm w, from the lower end of which extends the connectingrod w', which connects it to the bracket d, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By pnllingthe string fu the weighted lever twill partially rotate the rock-shaft s, which will give motion to the arm w, and through it to the connectingrod `zo,by which means the bracket d, carrying the windwheel, will be turned through a quarter of a circle and the wheel stopped. By releasing the cord the weighted lever will turn the wheel back to the original position, when it will be again acted upon by the wind.

In setting up a windmill it is usually a inatter of great difficulty to get the arm w, or one end of the rock-shaft s, at the proper angle to the lever t, which can only be generally determined by experiment and after changing the angles a great many times. In order to render this necessary changing ofthe angles an easy matter,I provide theinner top side ot' the arm w with a conical projection, 102, which is provided with teeth, this cone fitting into a corresponding-shaped recess in the cone s,which is rigidly lixed to the rock -shaft at the opposite end ofthe bearing from the lever t. The teeth on the cone to project into the grooves s3, made in the cone s', when the cone s and cone 102 are brought together, thus holding the arm rw at that angle, whatever it maybe. By withdrawing the arm i0 slightly, so as to cause the cones to become disengaged, the angle can be readily changed, and when the proper one is determined the arm can he held fast in that position byscrewing home the nut s3, for which the outer end of the rod s is adapted, as shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 7 is shown my improved device for securing a perfectly vertical adjustment of the cylinder a and mill-frame. rlhis is necessary, as any deviation to any side of the center would bend the pump-rod and give an increased and unnecessary resistance for the wind-wheel to overcome.

The device consists of a central hub or socket, 1, through which passes the lower end of the cylinder a, as shown. From the sides of this hub l projects the radiating arms orspokes 2, of which there are four, which extend through the rectangular frame C placed around the four supporting-posts of the tower. The outer ends of these arms are screw-threaded and are provided with the nuts 3. By means of these nuts the center' of the hub carrying the lower end oi' the cylinder a can be readily shifted until a perfectly vertical adjustment of the cylinder is obtained, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim l. The casting or frame b, provided with the uprights 1li', having stops b, the lower portion ofthe casting being rigidly secured to the cylinder a, and the top being provided with the circular opening b5, in which is placed the bushing e for the reception of the upper portion of the bracket d, substantially as shown.

2. The casting or frame b,provided with the uprights b', having stops 11",the lower portion of the casting being rigidly secured to the cylinder a, and the top being provided with the circular opening b5, in which is placed the bushing c for the reception ot' the upper portion of the bracket d, the said bracket d being provided with the shaft-bearing cl3, having the projectors d, and being further provided with the metallic band or strapf, having stops ffz, the lower portion ot" the bracket being pivoted to the cylinder a, whereby the bracket and frame or casting maybe turned through a quar ter of a circle independently ot' each other, substantially as set forth.

3. In a windmill, the combination of the cross-head m and slot l, with the crank-wheel h., having pivoted to it the wrist pin i, provided with the nuts It' and p and washer q, adapted to be tightened to take up the lost motion as the parts become worn by friction.

4. The rock-shaft s, mounted in the bearing r and provided with the inside-grooved cone s', in combination with the arm w, having the correspon dingly-toothed cone or projection wz, whereby the shaft and arm may be connected at any desired angle and readily disconnected at will, substantially as described.

5. In a windmill, the combination ot' the tower A, frame C, cap B, centering device 1, cylinder a, frame or casting b, rigidly secured thereto and provided with the rearwardly-projecting bracket g for carrying the vane E, the lower end of said bracket being pivoted tothe cylinder a, bracket d, pivoted at the bottom to the cylindera, between the bracket g and frame b, and at the top in the bushing c in the frame IIO ' v24mm 3 and provided with the band f, having stops In testimony whereof I have afxed my sigf andf2 encircling the casting' @Wind-wheel nature in presence of two Witnesses. Y D, shaft', e, wheel or crank h, wrists-pin z', work- Y ing in the slot; l inthe cross-head m, carrying WILLIAM W. HILDRETH. 5 the pump-rod n, lever t, weight u, rock-shaft s, arm fw, and connecting-rod w', all consrueted Witnesses: and combined to operate substantially as Y JESSE M. GALE, shown and described. ELI HULL. 

